Suspension Experts: Did I put the spring on correctly

[Carlosfandang0]

 

[reverend_sean]

hmmmm...I torqued the top nut once I released the compressor. I am at 2 weeks with no squeak yet. maybe a re-torque is in order...

 

[KevinC]

"Tested with factory dampers"

Yeah, and they worked. For a while, And not very well.

That statement was brought to you by the Eibach marketing department, who wants to sell springs to people who are too cheap to upgrade to a proper damper at the same time. Their engineers almost certainly cringed when they read it.

 

[Bäsemödel]

tq'ing with the spring compressed... brilliant... i need to go rent a set of compressors...

 

[Carlosfandang0]

"Tested with factory dampers"

Yeah, and they worked. For a while, And not very well.

That statement was brought to you by the Eibach marketing department, who wants to sell springs to people who are too cheap to upgrade to a proper damper at the same time. Their engineers almost certainly cringed when they read it.

Maybe true I suppose, but all I can go on is my own experience with running eibach springs with stock shocks, on both the MK5 and the MK6 I installed them on I didn’t encounter any issues at all even though I covered many miles, maybe I got lucky or maybe the shocks gave out just after I changed the car! [emoji2369]

 

[VL3X]

Being somewhat new to VW, I need to ask... Are VW struts especially fragile or is the community just very weary of running aftermarket springs with stock struts? I've ran modest lowering springs on a lot of my previous vehicles (I've also ran various coilovers too) with no issues. Yes, they will shorten the life of the oem strut, but they aren't going to blow them out within a couple hundred miles.

I had my STI lowered on RCE Yellows for 40k miles and never had any issues. I've also driven vehicles with coilovers that drove rougher on the street than a car with just springs. I've also driven a car with top of the line coils that was lowered 2+" and felt very smooth over bumps. I guess my point is, a very minimal drop spring (~1") will get rid of some wheel gap, improve handling a bit, add a slightly harsher ride over bumps and uneven surfaces, and might require factory struts to be replaced sooner. I think that is what Eibach and these other spring manufacturers mean when they say "can work with (or tested with) OEM dampers." It's common knowledge that there is a trade-off. The lower the drop, the shorter the strut life and harsher the ride.

Right now, for me and my needs, spending ~$200 on springs + $80 or so on replacement bearings and hardware to do the install myself is a much better options than dropping $1500-$2500 on a decent set of coilovers.

 

[Sandman GTI]

DCC and Eibach.
65,000 miles so far.

 

[VL3X]

DCC and Eibach.
65,000 miles so far.

No DCC and Eibach Pros for both me and Letcher77. We'll have to report back here and there. I'll start a thread to track my experience with them after I do the install in a couple weeks.

 

[KevinC]

Maybe true I suppose, but all I can go on is my own experience with running eibach springs with stock shocks, on both the MK5 and the MK6 I installed them on I didn’t encounter any issues at all even though I covered many miles, maybe I got lucky or maybe the shocks gave out just after I changed the car! [emoji2369]

Wear is gradual, so most likely what happened is that you just didn't notice as your shocks became worn out. If you drove a bunch of miles, then someone let you drive their car with the same springs but new Bilstein B8's, you'd probably have been shocked at the difference in how the 2 cars drove.

I would love for someone to put about 20k miles on a set of stock dampers with lowering springs, then take them to someone with a shock dyno and test exactly how much they are still working, if at all. I don't have faith in the cheap stock parts bin stuff lasting much beyond 40k even on the stock springs, but when you throw a lowering spring on there, wear is greatly accelerated.

 

[KevinC]

Being somewhat new to VW, I need to ask... Are VW struts especially fragile or is the community just very weary of running aftermarket springs with stock struts? I've ran modest lowering springs on a lot of my previous vehicles (I've also ran various coilovers too) with no issues. Yes, they will shorten the life of the oem strut, but they aren't going to blow them out within a couple hundred miles.

Nobody is suggesting that.

 

[VL3X]

Nobody is suggesting that.

It was an exaggeration, sure. But, most coilovers require rebuilds eventually as well. I'd love to see some real data on the average life of stock struts w/mild drop aftermarket springs vs the average coilover life before requiring a rebuild (obviously driving conditions would need to be considered).

I rarely (if ever) meet drivers with 30k+ miles on their coilover setup. Most seem to either sell the vehicle or swap out for a different setup.

 

[Sandman GTI]

A Mechanic I found recently put it a good way.
I asked if my shocks should be replaced while the shock mount was replaced?
Thinking I had non DCC he said we should change as new shocks are not a big expense.
But I reminded him I have DCC, which he then said to not replace until they fail due to cost.
So cost of the shock also plays a part.
Next time apart, keep in mind. Based on cost it is a good time to replace.